Skyrockets: Festivals of Fire Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Overview
• Festivals & Events
• Components
• Event Cards
• Setup
• Gameplay
  • 1. Game Start
  • 2. Turn Actions
  • 3. Turn End
• Countdown Timer
• Crowd Tokens & Timers Running Out
• Game End
• Festivals & Events (Structure)
• Event Rules & Clarifications
  • Turns
  • Communication
  • Timers
  • Crowd Tokens
  • Drawing Cards
• Challenge Mode
• Glossary
• Credits

Game Overview

Work together to perform spectacular, magical fireworks shows by playing Fireworks Cards and flipping matching sand timers.

Use your keen sense of timing, strategy, and group communication to advance the Countdown Timer while keeping the other sand timers going.

Win together when the Countdown Timer reaches the end of the track, and earn stars by winning an event without too many timers running out.

Festivals & Events

Follow the Festival Guide and attempt to earn 3-stars for as many of the 30 events as you can, or curate your own festival with your favorites — each event brings a unique challenge and twists on the rules!

Components

• 6 Timers:
  • Red (30 sec)
  • Orange (40 sec)
  • Yellow (50 sec)
  • Green (60 sec)
  • Blue (70 sec)
  • Purple (80 sec)
• 60 Fireworks Cards
• 30 Event Cards
• Countdown Track
• 3 Crowd Tokens
• Crowd Area
• Start Player Token
• Festival Guide
• Encore! Envelope
• Score Pad

Timer lengths are approximate — small variations are expected and don't impact gameplay.

Event Cards

For your first time playing Skyrockets, start with the training event.

Each Event Card is laid out with the following information: Festival Name, Event Name, Event Number, Story Text, Setup instructions, Hand Size icon, Starting Timer Positions diagram, and Additional Rules.

The Training event card (Festival 1, Event 1: "Push the Button!") reads: "Alright, which side do we point up? ...and what does that button do!?" Time to learn the basics. Follow the rules as written in the rulebook. Win by advancing the Countdown Timer to the button space on the Countdown Track. Hand size: 4 cards.

Scan the code to watch the how-to-play video: floodgate.games/skyrockets

Setup

1. Event Card. Each time you play, you'll select an Event Card detailing the unique setup and unique rules of that event. The rules here describe the basics that each event builds on; any differences are called out on the Event Card. Set all the other Event Cards aside, they won't be needed.

2. Fireworks Cards. Shuffle all the Fireworks Cards and deal the number shown by the hand-size icon on the Event Card to each player. For the Training event, deal 4 cards to each player. Some events use different hand sizes based on the number of players, while others may use no cards in hand at all. You may look at your cards.

3. Draw Deck. Place the remaining Fireworks Cards in a face-down draw deck in the middle of the table. You can split this deck into multiple piles so players can reach them more easily. Some events use personal draw decks, where players may only draw from their own draw deck.

4. Timers & Countdown Track. The Event Card shows which timers begin the game running (sand on top), including one timer placed on the 4-space on the Countdown Track. Timers shown as a circle start on their side. For the training event, red, yellow, purple, and orange start the game running with orange on the Countdown Track. Green and blue start on their side. During setup, it's helpful to stand up all the timers that will begin the game running (sand on bottom), then flip them all once you're ready to start.

   NOTE: Make sure all the sand is on one side of each timer before you begin.

5. Crowd Tokens. Place all 3 Crowd Tokens star-side-up on the Crowd Area. You'll use these tokens to flip the first two non-countdown timers to run out (see Crowd Tokens & Timers Running Out).

6. Start Player Token. For your first game, give the Start Player Token to whoever has most recently seen fireworks. This token moves clockwise after each game.

Gameplay

Once you begin the game, there's no way to pause. So be sure everyone knows the rules and is ready to play until the end.

1. Game Start

To begin the game, stand up the timers as indicated on the Event Card – including the timer on the Countdown Track – so they're running (sand on top).

2. Turn Actions

Beginning with the Start Player, each player takes a turn. On your turn, play a card faceup in a pile in front of you. Flip both timers matching the icons on the card you just played. You can flip them in any order.

NOTE: If the timer is on its side, stand it up so the sand is on top.

3. Turn End

Finish your turn by drawing a new card from the deck.

Gameplay continues in clockwise order until the game ends (see Game End).

Countdown Timer

The timer on the Countdown Track is special—you want it to run out! If you play a card matching the Countdown Timer when it's empty, flip it and move it to the next space on the track. However, you do not flip it if the timer is running (sand on top).

As soon as you advance the Countdown Timer onto the final "button" space, you win the event (see Game End).

NOTE: You can play a card matching the Countdown Timer while it's running, but it will only flip the other matching timer on the card (ignoring the Countdown Timer).

Crowd Tokens & Timers Running Out

If a non-countdown timer runs out, you have a dud – and are in danger of losing as the disappointed crowd disperses! However, the Crowd Tokens give you two chances to keep going. As soon as a player notices that a non-countdown timer has run out, they must flip a Crowd Token face-down and then immediately flip the empty timer. This does not count as that player's turn.

If a timer runs out and you flip the third token over, everyone has left your show and the event ends in a loss (see Game End).

Game End

The game ends in one of two ways:

Win. Once you move the Countdown Timer onto the final button space, everyone wins! Check your star rating based on the stars visible in the Crowd Area; if you didn't need to flip any Crowd Tokens, you earned 3 stars! Record your star rating on the Score Pad and move onto the next event.

Loss. If a non-countdown timer runs out and you flip the third Crowd Token, the event ends. Try again — you've got this!

TIP: Sometimes it's better to wait for a bit before playing a card on your turn: build that sweet, sweet anticipation!

Win or lose, pass the Start Player Token clockwise to the next player.

Festivals & Events (Structure)

Once you've completed training, it's time to put on a show! The events are grouped into festivals, each a series of 3 events with a similar feel. We recommend that you read the intro to each festival in the Festival Guide and play through them in order, tracking your group's progress, star ratings, and how many tries each event took you on the Score Pad. Once you complete the Grand Finale festival (28), open the Encore Envelope for two more events and a couple surprises.

If you're feeling carefree, you can play a random Event Card from the deck or curate your own custom festival with a series of your favorite events.

Event Rules & Clarifications

Events have a wide variety of different rules. In general, follow the rules in this book, but any rules listed on the Event Card take precedence.

Turns

• Turns are taken in clockwise order and consist of playing one Fireworks Card from your hand, flipping the matching timers, then drawing one card from the deck.
• Some events say, "There's no turn order," which means players can take their turns in any order (or even take multiple turns in a row). However, turns must take place one at a time — players must still wait for one turn to end before the next turn can begin.

Communication

• Some events restrict communication. In all other events, you may freely communicate about anything: cards in your hand, your plans for your next turn, etc. Working together is key to a 3-star fireworks show!

Timers

• You don't need to play a card immediately on your turn; it's often a good idea to wait until the timers are right where you want them.
• All matching timers must be flipped before the next player begins their turn.
• You may flip matching timers in either order (or simultaneously) and may wait before flipping either, but must flip each timer that's allowed.
• On your turn, you must flip the timers yourself. If needed, select a designated flipper before beginning the game.
• If a timer is knocked over, there's no penalty. Simply stand it back up the way it was. When in doubt, put the side with less sand on top.
• Some events stack timers on top of each other. Cards do not affect timers beneath other timers. If you have trouble stacking timers, "stack" the timers on the table in a row next to each other, clearly indicating the "top" of the stack.

Crowd Tokens

• Crowd Tokens cannot be used to flip the Countdown Timer.

Drawing Cards

• Some events refer to "personal draw decks". When these are used, you may only draw cards from your own personal deck.
• In the rare event that you don't have any cards to play, skip your turn.
• Some events say, "Don't draw cards as normal." Pay careful attention to when the event allows you to draw cards.

Challenge Mode

Rocking 3-star shows without breaking a sweat? Make any event more challenging by simply swapping in the next longer timer on the Countdown Track. For example, if yellow (50 seconds) is shown as the Countdown Timer on the event card, use green (60 seconds) instead. You're so impressive!

Glossary

• Play — Reveal and resolve the card, then place it in a discard pile.
• Reveal — Show the card to everyone. Do not flip any timers.
• Resolve — Flip the timers with matching colors/symbols.
• Discard — Place the card in a discard pile. Do not flip any matching timers.
• Matching — Two timers and/or cards that each share 1 or more colors/symbols.
• Non-Countdown Timer — Any timer that is not on the Countdown Track. Try not to let these timers run out!
• Countdown Timer — Any timer on the Countdown Track. These timers can only be flipped when empty.
• Card Types — There are 15 unique card types, one for each 2-color combination.
• ☆ Cards — One of each unique Fireworks Card has a star symbol in its bottom left corner. This is to help quickly find them for some events.

Credits

Game Design: Charlie McCarron Game Development: Ben Harkins Illustration: Silly Jellie Graphic Design: KOMBOH Creative Writing: Harry MacKin Product Development: Jennifer Closson, Rich Gain, Ian Birdsall Editing: Paige Polinsky Playtesting: Ananda Guneratne, Emily Tinawi-Harkins, Josh & Vanessa Slivken, Brian & Sarah Schreier, Sara Schueller, Kristi Davis, Jason Engle, Celeste Kiewel, David LeDuc, Abby Marta, Marissa Robinson, Raven Rurek, Ann Thompson, Derrick Schwartz, Bria Knorr, Evan Pedersen, Sherri Tasler

Published by: © 2023 Floodgate Games, LLC. All rights reserved. Floodgate Games – 8014 Highway 55 – #501 Golden Valley, MN 55427, US.

UK Importer: Asmodee UK – 6 Waterbrook Road, Alton, GU34 2UD, UK EU Importer: Asmodee Nordics – Valseholmen 1 l – 2650 Hvidovre – Denmark